I’ve got a gripe.

I’m not a fan of when celebrities charge money for autographs. Mind you, I’m not speaking of the actors that once starred on one of your favorite shows back in the day and now sign autographs at these collector shows and Comic-Cons as a way to make some extra scratch to live on. Or the ones that sign and give the proceeds to charity. I’m speaking of the folks who are currently working actors, paid a good buck, and charge an exorbitantamount of money to sign their John Hancock for their fans.

That’s bullshit!

What they should do is show up to these things in the name of good PR and sign for free. It’s called fan service. Give a little something back to the people that idle worship you and help keep your paychecks rolling in. Yeah, some of them will sell it on Ebay, but what do you care? Ebay has destroyed the value of everything so it probably won’t go for very much anyway.  

So what brings this on, you ask? This weekend, I came across a listing that said Edward James Olmos (Battlestar Galactica, Miami Vice) and Caity Lotz (Arrow) were going to be at the Los Angeles Comic Book and Science Fiction Convention at the Shrine Auditorium Expo Center. The Los Angeles Comic-Con used to be great back in the day. They held it every month and had some really great presentations (Lost in Space, The Matrix, etc…). But since some of these other convention circuits signed away all of the big acts, the LA Comic-Con is really nothing more than a giant dealers room (for which you have to pay $10 to enter).

But to the point. I came to find that Mr. James Olmos was charging $60.00 an autograph and an additional $20 if you wanted to pose for a picture with him (with your own camera, of course). The $60 included a choice of photo that he supplied. So the whole combo could cost you up to $80 total. That’s a whole lot of Taco Bell!

Here’s a small conversation from the Los Angeles Comic-Con Facebook Page:

(Insert Fan’s name here): Can we bring our own camera to pose with Edward James Olmos?

Los Angeles Comic Book and Science Fiction Convention: Yes, you can bring your own camera and it’s only $20.00 to pose with Edward James Olmos.

Only $20 to pose! Hmmmm…. yeah. Only.

Then there is Caity Lotz from the CW show “Arrow.” I like “Arrow.” It’s fun. She’s a recurring character on that show. She’s cute. And she was charging $40 an autograph. And another $20 for a picture to pose with her. That’s $60 for the entire package. For Caity Lotz! And ninety-nine percent of the people on the planet just went “Who?” I’ll tell you who. Caity F…ing Lotz! That’s who!

So I asked myself, “will people actually pay these ridiculous prices for a signature from Black Canary and Commander Adama?”

I felt it was time for a little field trip. So Sunday morning, August 17, 2014, I jumped in the Know It All Joe Mobile and headed to the Los Angeles Comic Book and Science Fiction Convention at the Shrine Auditorium Expo Center. I made sure I left early enough because I figured there was probably going to be a very long line to get into this place. Black Canary and Commander Adama! Come on, now!  What more can you ask for?

There was no line.

I immediately paid the $10 entry fee, got a wrist band for re-entry purposes and a couple of free posters (“Captain America: The Winter Soldier” and “Frank”) and headed on in. Like I said above, it really is just a huge dealer’s room. And let’s be honest, it’s mostly garage sale stuff sold at jacked-up prices. To be fair, there are some good deals here and there and a few cool things, but most of the stuff is crap and can be found cheaper online.

One of the dealers tried to sell me a DVD for the leaked pilot of the new “Flash” series which is set to premiere on the CW in October. I told him I saw it already. His response… “Damn internet!” Yup!

Moving forward – I found that Edward James Olmos was set up in the back of the room so I headed that way.   I was really curious as to how long this line would be. I figured that all of the “Battlestar Galactica” fanatics would be itching to get Commander Adama’s autograph. Hey, I loved “Battlestar Galactica.” I still do. The old series and the new. So I thought that even at these ridiculous prices there would still be a good amount of people aching for his signature.

Nope.

Okay, a few showed up here and there. But that line didn’t change much from 10am to 12pm (his scheduled signing time). I kinda felt bad. I really did. But a lesson is to be learned here. Don’t try and out price yourself. Your fans will only take so much and pay so much. Plus, he was sitting in the back of the room, secluded, with bodyguards.

He should have sat up by the dealer’s tables, made himself more visible, mingled, and only charged a maximum of $20 including fan photos. Good PR. Good Karma. Good Adama.

Did I mention that I felt bad for him. That’s just gotta suck. It couldn’t get worse, right?

So enter Caity Lotz. She was scheduled to be there from 12pm to 1pm. She got there a bit early, but she’s another over-charger. And surely another disappointing line. I mean, who the hell is she anyway? No one has heard of this woman. Well, I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again. She’s Caity F…ing Lotz!  That’s who she is!

So what we have here is a hot chic on a popular superhero CW show.   I guess they can charge as much as they want. The fans will come. The fans will pay. Black Canary!

Oh, yeah, back to Edward James Olmos.   It got worse!  Lotz to the left – James Olmos to the right.

That ego had to feel as if it went twelve rounds with Mike Tyson. Back before he bit Evander Holyfield’s ear off. Which had to hurt. For Holyfield. And now for James Olmos.

Maybe if Edward James Olmos wore a blonde wig, things would look up.

Nope. Disturbing.

So in wrapping up, I don’t really have a huge problem with out-of-work or retired actors charging for autographs in order to supplement their income, as long as the fee’s they charge remain reasonable. And autograph’s for charity sake is fine as well. But well paid working actors should not be taking advantage of their fan base in order to line their pockets even further. It’s kind of classless actually. And even if fans are willing to pay these prices, there is just something wrong about it.  Hey, maybe James Olmos has alimony to pay and Lotz is in need of more shoes. All the same, they should at least keep it to $20 and include the photo op for free.  Don’t gouge the fan!

Well, I’ll tell you this. I learned one thing for certain – Hot superhero chicks can get away with a lot more than aging Battlestar Commanders.